Computers merely allow us to lie - and forget the lies - at light speed. This will eventually replace all other cultures - neoliberalism especially ...
A river is made up of different water molecules every day, yet it's the same river over millennia.
In the same way, countries (and other abstract entities such as companies) exist in the dynamics of human interactions.
So yes, humans must perpetuate the concept by re-telling it, but somewhat paradoxically it's not a lie as long as they do so.
Heraclitus would like a word with you.
It’s amazing to me people agree on definitions for anything, given people have been having the same basic abstract arguments for what makes thing A thing A and distinct from thing B for thousands of years.
You can open a map and find that a river has a name, that's true no matter your stance on what it "really is".
Rerun the human race 1000 times. Do you think Russia will show up more than a handful of times?
It only takes a few days in the bush, out back, to realize just how futile it is to consider any one culture superior to another...